NEW YEAR is upon us and for many that will herald the start of fad diets, punishing gym regimes and abstinence.
However, one Dundee woman has opened a new school for those seeking a workout with a difference.
Heather Thomson opened her pole fitness school Pole Position Scotland in Douglas Court and she already runs eight classes a week.
It was her love of shooting that got the 29-year-old into pole fitness.
“I started clay pigeon shooting years ago with my dad,” said Heather. “I became interested in the hunting and went to Elmwood College to do gamekeeping. I learned about deer stalking there.”
Heather became so adept with a rifle while at college that she won a prize for her shooting skills and went on to be sponsored by Dunkeld Shooting Academy.
Olympic skeet coach Iain MacGregor was training Heather when he told her she needed to build up her upper body strength so she started swimming.
“Swimming soon bored me and I started pole fitness,” she said. “It started off as a hobby and I was only doing it on Tuesday nights but it was driving me insane only doing it once a week so I started going to Pole Organisation UK in Edinburgh.”
Heather loved her new regime so much she started taking private classes as well, and spent much of her week driving down to Edinburgh.
“It was worth it, though,” she said. “My fitness, especially in my upper body, improved dramatically and I’ve now got qualifications to level 2 instructor from Pole Passion.”
In July, Heather really upped her game, travelling to New York for five weeks’ intense training at a pole fitness school.
She said: “In America I had to start from scratch. I also took lessons from one of the world champion pole dancers. It was unbelievable.”
When Heather came home she began scouring Dundee for premises and fell in love with a unit in Douglas Court, which she refurbished to become her dance school.
Now she is running her eight one-hour, 15-minute classes every week and is about to start flexibility classes too.
High-profile celebrities who practise pole fitness include Kate Moss, Jennifer Aniston and Emma Watson.
Heather said she is keen to divorce the negative associations that many people have of pole dancing and stresses that pole fitness is highly skilled and one of the best workouts you can have.
She insisted that her class is open to all, regardless of age, shape or size and she is now trying to get some men involved too.
“I don’t have men but I would totally encourage them to come,” she said. “They would be really brave.
“There’s all sorts of shapes and sizes come. It’s not about your weight it’s about your strength. If you don’t have strength you will build on it.
“It’s all about control, upper body strength and flexibility.
“No one ever comes to a class and can’t do anything. Some people are scared but there’s ways of teaching it.
“Even when you do basic, you’re still getting a workout. We also do short dance routines which can make it even more fun.”
ksmyth@thecourier.co.uk